Pacific Fishing is published for commercial fishermen and seafood business professionals.

Monday, January 10, 2011

STUDY: MARINE RESERVES KILL FISHERMEN

A new study has shown that some marine protected areas kill those who must fish for their livelihoods.

Five marine protected areas were established off Guam in the 1990s, eventually displacing native Chamorro fishermen. The fishermen were forced to travel farther to find legal fishing grounds. Because the new grounds were more dangerous, fishermen died.

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Expert: U.S. overfishing ended

The projected end of overfishing comes during a turbulent fishing year that's seen New England fishermen switch to a radically new management system. But scientist Steve Murawski said that for the first time in written fishing history, which goes back to 1900, "As far as we know, we've hit the right levels, which is a milestone."

Alaska charters want more halibut

Steve Smith's business has been cut in half, however, by National Marine Fisheries Service's new Charter Halibut Permit program for areas 2C, Southeast, and 3A, the central Gulf of Alaska including Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay, which goes into effect Feb. 1.

Cal fishermen hurt by shark-savers

Southern California fishermen are caught in the middle of shark-protection efforts even though regulators say "common threshers" — distinctive for their long, arched tails — are rebounding and well-managed along the state's coast.

NE fishermen howl over quota

Commercial fishing advocates and Bay State politicians assailed a federal official's decision to deny the governor's request for an emergency increase to catch limits for groundfishing vessels in the Northeast.

To the editor: Hatchery story was wrong

Dear editor:

I really enjoy this aggregate of news related to fishing, but you've struck a nerve with the link titled "Without hatcheries, salmon disappear." That is about the most poorly written and reasoned piece on salmon ecology that I have ever read, and for you to link to it, and to actually boil down his points to no hatcheries-no salmon, is pretty disingenuous. Please take a closer look at these articles before you link to them. There are a thousand fisheries scientists whose work disagrees with this gentleman's, whose doctorate is in healing arts, not fisheries science or ecology. Linking to this piece is akin to linking to an article from one off beat scientist who denies climate change. It discredits your magazine as a legitimate news source.

Micah Wait, director of conservation, Wild Fish Conservancy

To see the article in question, go to www.pacificfishing.com. Immediately under the Fish Wrap header, you'll see "Search the Fish Wrap Archives." Click! Under 2011, click on the week of 010311. Scroll down to Friday.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

PREDICTING OCEAN CONDITIONS

Just how much an abrupt transition from El Niño to La Niña conditions in 2010 might impact future salmon runs is, for the moment, anyone's guess.

Fish Board eyes Kodiak king bycatch

A Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association proposal would bar commercial seine fishermen from keeping king salmon taken before July 6 in the Kodiak Management Area unless both the Karluk and Ayakulik rivers had met the minimum salmon escapement goals set by state fisheries biologists.

Lack of 'courage' keeps low quotas

Pacific Seafood changes Kodiak name

Island Seafoods, a seafood market and processing facility in Kodiak, will officially take the name of its parent company, Pacific Seafood. The change is a result of Island Seafoods' efforts to align with Pacific Seafood's branding and sustainability standards.

No more Sarah, at least for now

Bad weather limits snow crab fleet

The Bering Sea snow crab fishery has been stalled so far by bad weather. Most of the catch is delivered to St. Paul, where the Trident Seafood plant was awaiting supplies to get going. A Northland barge has been stuck in Dutch Harbor due to weather, delaying operations.

Examining future of kings on Klamath

A panel of experts that will advise the U.S. Interior secretary on the potential removal of four dams on the Klamath River gathered Monday in Eureka to investigate how the massive project might benefit Chinook salmon, the backbone of tribal, sport and commercial fisheries.

– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times Standard

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

CG ALASKA RANGER REPORT TODAY

The U.S. Coast Guard will hold a media briefing to release the Report of Investigation, into the sinking of the fish processing vessel Alaskan Ranger today. The Alaska Ranger was 130 miles west of Dutch Harbor when it sank nearly three years ago. Five men died.

Reality TV looking for fishermen's wives

Shed Media US, a Los Angeles television production company, is looking to cast a new reality series called "Alaska Fishermen's Wives." Casting producer Annette Ivy tells me she's looking to contact women who are "outgoing and have big personalities."

Search for Icicle worker overboard

Fish commish meets with foes

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell met with Native leaders last week to discuss her position on various issues, and to attempt to ease concerns about her age and experience which were raised when she was appointed last month.

Adak seeks relief from Steller measures

The city of Adak is requesting the state to issue an emergency order that will allow boats to fish for Pacific cod in the far western Aleutians in spite of a new federal regulation put into place to protect the endangered western Steller sea lions.

B.C. halibut charters predict havoc

Halibut sport fishermen and charter operators on southern Vancouver Island are predicting economic havoc if the Department of Fisheries and Oceans closes this year's fishery in July instead of letting it run until December.

Atlantic halibut seeks MSC certification

The largest Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) fishery in eastern Canadian waters entered full assessment in the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certification program for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.

Panel to examine Klamath salmon behavior

The panel will determine how salmon would respond to dam removal and a program to restore habitat and shore up water supplies to farms in the Upper Klamath Basin, or how Chinook would respond if the dams remain in place.

– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times Standard

Thursday, January 13, 2011

OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR DEADLY SINKING

The sinking of the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger, a 2008 maritime disaster that claimed the lives of five of 47 crew members, likely resulted from the failure of an aging hull that hadn't been properly maintained, according to a Coast Guard report released Wednesday.

Family sues over longliner death

A worker who died on Sept. 7 aboard the F/V Siberian Sea did not die of natural causes, according to a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased, Russell "Rusty" Jennings, 39, of Michigan, in King County Superior Court.

Another B.C. halibut charter doomsayer

Devastation and the collapse of the halibut sports fishing industry is imminent if federal measures are not taken to accommodate recreational fishers, says Mike Hicks, lodge operator, fishing guide and area director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area.

Restaurants should do fish homework

In a public letter, the Chefs Collaborative has agreed with Legal Sea Foods President Roger Berkowitz that restaurateurs should do their own research rather than let so-called "eco-labelers" dictate what seafood to serve and what to shun.

Keeping tabs on Cassandra

Pacific Fishing columnist and Daily Astorian reporter Cassandra Marie Profita has found a new gig: Reporting and writing about the environment in the Pacific Northwest for Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Nationally, she is one of 12 bloggers in a new network sponsored by National Public Radio and local public broadcasters.

Although occasionally reporting for broadcast, Cassandra focuses primarily on discovering environmental trends and writing about them for her blog:Ecotrope.

In addition, she continues to do special projects for Pacific Fishing. She wrote and edited the magazine's special section about Marine Stewardship Council certification of the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery. It'll be in the February issue.

Cucumber diver dies in SE Alaska

Coast Guard investigators from Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan are working with the Annette Island Department of Fish and Game and the Metlakatla Police Department in the investigation of a commercial diving death that occurred on the 68-foot fishing tender Island Dancer near Annette Island Wednesday.

Alaska Fisheries Report

Coming up this week, the Alaska Board of Fish is meeting in Kodiak right now, but they've got even more work to do next week in Anchorage. Cora Campbell has won over some critics, and EVOS lawyers are looking for Alaska's lost fishermen.

Glitch halts trawl ratz fishing

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' three-day-old management system for the West Coast Groundfish fishery came grinding to a halt when a computer "glitch" froze elements of the computer system that allow fishermen to track their individual allotments.

Bycatch discard rule 'madness'

There is a lot of talk in the air, just now, about the madness of the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy, and how its strict quota system forces British trawlermen to throw vast quantities of fish back into the sea, dead.

Research: Virus killing B.C. sockeye

Scientists working with wild sockeye salmon struggling to cope with warming temperatures in British Columbia's Fraser River have identified broad genetic signatures that can predict which fish will live or die before spawning a new generation.

Sea lions decimate Columbia sturgeon

Freezer-longliners file sea lion lawsuit

The Freezer Longline Coalition filed suit on behalf of its members against the National Marine Fisheries Service and entered the Steller Sea Lion litigation opposing NMFS's interim final rule and final Biological Opinion.